The Cadillac CTS is a mid-size produce by General Motors since 2002. So far, it has seen two generations with a third in the works for 2013.
The current model is offered in sedan, coupe, and sport-wagon variants with a choice of three different engines. The first is a 3.0L V6 developing 260hp and 223 lb-ft of torque. The second engine is a 3.6L V6 producing 304hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, while the top of the line 6.2L Supercharged V8 engine delivers 556hp and 551 lb-ft of torque. These engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.
Americans love their wagons. Actually, that’s not true in the slightest. Americans hate wagons for some odd reason. Instead, they love crossovers that are about as fun to drive as a horse and buggy. Nonetheless, Cadillac thought it would give the wagon thing a go, hoping that they could succeed where BMW and Mercedes failed. For those anoraks out there, this is the first time in the company’s 106-year history that they have built a wagon, or estate as some call it.
While some estates offer maximum cargo space, the Cadillac went for a more stylistic approach. It’s only 1.25-inches taller and about 200 pounds heavier. It’s like wearing flip flops in the winter, simply a fashion thing and not practical in any way. The look is deceiving though, as Cadillac has stretched the taillights to a total of three feet. They’ve also added roof racks and, of course, no Cadillac would be complete without chrome.
A little over two years ago, Cadillac brought the CTS-V Sedan to Germany to run a lap around the country’s most famous race track, the Nurburgring.
And while the CTS-V’s lap time of 7:59:32 doesn’t come close to what the supercars are capable of, Cadillac spared no expense in celebrating the feat, albeit two years too late.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Cadillac is making a commercial called “The Competition” to commemorate their supposed record-breaking run for a four-door vehicle two years ago. We don’t know how these guys handle timetables, but we’re quite sure that making a commercial – would’ve been better if they just made a documentary or something – out of an event, and a feat, that occurred back in 2008, doesn’t bode well for those who have trouble remembering what they ate a week ago.
But hey, if there’s a silver lining to this whole endeavor, it’s that Jeff Zwart is directing the commercial. Yeah, the very same Jeff Zwart that decimated Rhys Millen’s class record at Pikes Peak while driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup a few months ago.
Cadillac may have decided that the CTS-V Coupe will be the last CTS version to be offered, but High Springs, Florida based Droptop Customs has a different idea. Droptop Customs specializes in developing open-top versions of hard-top production cars, and their latest project is a coupe-convertible version for the CTS-V. Its official debut will be made in November at the SEMA Show. According to Droptop Customs, the new Cadillac CTS Coupe-Convertible comes as a replacement for their Eldorado model and the company has big expectations for it. Their hopes are to sell around 3000 units a year.
The convertible version comes with a fabric soft-top which retracts in a space above the luggage compartment. The tuner said that despite modifications made to the car, the aerodynamics have not been modified.
No word yet on if the tuner has opted to modify the car’s engine, but we expect to see the same 304 HP 3.6 liter V6 as found in the hard-top version of the Cadillac CTS-V.
More details are to be announced closer to the official launch.
For this top ten, we are going to set the price cap at $120,000, if you can call that a cap. That should eliminate most of the extreme vehicles, but keep the basic Porsches and so on within the limits.
What kinds of things are we looking for with high-end sports cars? Obviously, they need to be fast with agile handling and excellent driving dynamics. The car needs to look stunning with a functional yet stylish interior. It would also be great if it could stand the test of time, so reliability is also a factor.
For most of us, the act of actually buying a car, or maybe even leasing it, is something that happens about once very few years. But even if the intention of being a little frugal surfaces on a lot of occasions, it still doesn’t mean that we can’t spend our time dreaming of the next car purchase that’s on our list. That’s precisely why online configurators have become popular these days.
The latest manufacturer to present a new configurator is Cadillac with the new CTS-V Coupe. Already headed to dealerships, Cadillac has given prospective customers even more incentive to consider purchasing Cadillac’s new high-powered coupe.
The CTS-V Coupe may not be getting a lot of publicity recently, but there’s certainly something about this car that oozes confidence and has a charismatic nature that makes it a definite eye-catcher. And even if you’re still on the fence with this car, the new online configurator may be the only thing you need to make a believer out of you.
